Hemokinin-1 has Substance P-like function in U-251 MG astrocytoma cells: a pharmacological and functional study

Substance P (SP) triggers responses in astrocytoma cells, which are considered important for proliferation and neuroimmunomodulatory activity. In this study, we compared the effects of SP with those of the novel tachykinin Hemokinin-1 (HK-1) in the human astrocytoma cell line U-251 MG. We show that U-251 MG cells express high levels of Neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptors. The binding affinities of 125I-SP and 125I-mHK-1 to these receptors were in a similar, subnanomolar range. HK-1 and SP stimulated Ca2+ mobilization and induced increased cytokine mRNA expression. A specific NK-1 receptor antagonist blocked the observed effects. We conclude that there are no qualitative differences in SP and HK-1-evoked responses, suggesting that both peptides act through NK-1 receptors in U-251 MG cells. Moreover, we show TAC4 mRNA expression in gliomas, indicating a possible involvement of HK-1 in glioma biology.